Locals Mean Business

How to Build Relationships with Locals and Generate Bookings in the Process

Welcome to the Backyard Marketing Blog

Today’s economy has transitioned from consumer-oriented (emphasis on one-way communication of product and price) to relationship-oriented (emphasis on two-way communication between people you trust). Backyard Marketing has been helping destination marketing organizations make this transition for the past 16 years by providing full contact information on local individuals, many of whom currently hold board/committee positions with state, regional, national, and international associations and corporations. Backyard Marketing clients simply connect with these local insiders, build authentic relationships with them, and include them in the branding and marketing of their destination to the organizations the locals belong to.

Local people are usually eager to help their local economy and share their knowledge and contacts with local destination marketing representatives. They already trust you as a fellow local citizen, and any communication on your part only increases this trust. This blog is intended to discuss the philosophy of this marketing approach more in-depth, dialogue about best practices, and answer other questions you may have such as how to incorporate this philosophy into short and long-term marketing plans, etc.

This blog has been featuring “best practices” in the convention sales industry. Another best practice is to recognize local people who help destination marketing organizations and hotels bring conventions to their city. If you do not have a local recognition program in place—consider the following benefits: Recognizing local people who help bring conventions to their city attracts free publicity. Convention bookings are big news, but so [...]

This post is part V in a series of posts on “best practices” to follow when contacting local board members. Another “best practice” when implementing the philosophy of Backyard Marketing into your sales strategy is to do a thorough analysis of the culture of your city, county, and region. Researching the culture of your city allows your sales staff to prioritize their limited resources (time, [...]

This post is part IV in a series of posts on “best practices” to follow when contacting local board members. In the last post, What Motivates Local People to Bring Conventions to Their Hometown?, we outlined some reasons why a local person might be motivated to invite an association to which he or she belongs to hold a convention in their hometown. A related question is [...]

This post is part III in a series of posts on “best practices” to follow when contacting local board members. In my last post I explored How To Maximize the Potential of Your First Phone Call to a local association contact. Before moving on to other best practices, I want to outline some reasons why local people are often motivated to have their respective association [...]

This post is part II in a series of posts on “best practices” to follow when contacting local board members. In my last post, 11 Ways Local Board Members Can Help You Book Business, I discussed the best practice of prioritizing local people who currently serve on state, regional, national, and international association boards and committees. In this post, I would like to discuss a related best practice: how to maximize [...]

Welcome to the Backyard Marketing Blog! Clients of Backyard Marketing often ask if we have a list of “best practices” to follow when contacting local people who sit on state, regional, national and international association boards. The answer is yes, and for the next few months I would like to explore some of these with you. My first suggestion is start with local people who currently serve on a board. [...]

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Local people are usually eager to help their local economy and share their knowledge and contacts with local destination marketing representatives. They already trust you as a fellow local citizen, and any communication on your part only increases this trust. This blog is intended to discuss the philosophy of this marketing approach more in-depth, dialogue about best practices, and answer other questions you may have such as how to incorporate this philosophy into its short and long-term marketing plans, etc.

Michael Still has 24 years of convention sales experience, including 9 years working for convention bureaus, 4 years in hotels, and 5 years in hotel regional sales offices. Michael has been identifying and persuading local association members to bring regional, state, and national conventions to the cities he has represented for all 24 years, and has developed and expanded many marketing programs that target local association members.

This is my personal blog. The information contained here is provided for informational purposes only. No representation is made as to accuracy, completeness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any information on this website. I will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its use.